


A Lesson in Chemistry

by Slytherin_Princess_Nysa



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alive Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Child Abuse, Closeted Character, Cute, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Jealous Luke Patterson, Luke Patterson Loves Julie Molina, M/M, Magical Tattoos, Mutual Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, juke endgame, no beta we die dumb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26609848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_Princess_Nysa/pseuds/Slytherin_Princess_Nysa
Summary: Luke has more important things to worry about than finding his soulmate. He’s only 17 and not interested in “settling with a nice girl” like his mother keeps telling him to do. Things like getting Sunset Curve a record deal, figuring out his issues with his parents in therapy and maybe even passing all his classes to graduate on time next year.But then she walks into chemistry and suddenly the little handwritten quote on his rib doesn’t seem so pointless anymore.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Luke Patterson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Reggie/Carrie Wilson
Comments: 451
Kudos: 877





	1. Happily Ever...oh wait

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bluefire510](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluefire510/gifts).



> This is for someone whos JuliexLuke stories gave me so much happiness waiting for season 2
> 
> This is a little Julie and Luke AU because these two deserve more love and stories because there's barely anything - like 100 for Juke rn and y'all know that's not enough
> 
> ugh suffering through the pain of being part of a fandom since day one again...having to make all the content

**~ Luke Patterson ~**

Luke slammed his locker closed and leaned towards Reggie, watching his bandmate as he sorted through his textbooks, trying to find a specific one before the bell rang for class. Reggie pushed past his history book for the third time and sighed, “I swear it was here Friday. I’ll never understand why teachers have midterms at different times. I just want you lot to suffer with me.”

“If it was in there, you wouldn’t know it,” Alex said with a laugh, pointing at the locker, popping a handful of candies into his mouth. “You slept through school Friday.”

Alex offered the candy towards the two of them and Reggie snatched it up, pouring the rest into his mouth and handing back the empty packet to an offended Alex. Luke snorted, patting him on the shoulder as he tossed it in the garbage.

Luke nodded as he turned away from the lockers, “You were texting the groupchat all of Saturday night about how the horror movie marathon was going and then slept through all our texts and calls in the morning.”

Reggie groaned wholeheartedly, throwing his head back. “I remember now, it’s on the coffee table. I used it as a coaster for my pizza.” The bell rang and Reggie closed his locker dejectedly, “Mrs D is going to kill me.”

“How many times have you forgotten that book?”

Reggie ducked his head as they rounded the corner and he spotted his homeroom, “Enough to get on her bad side.” he turned to salute them, somber frown in place. “Pray for me.”

They waved him off and headed down the hall towards their own classes.

Alex hummed under his breath and Luke recognized the tune from the song they had spent all weekend practicing in Bobby’s garage. Luke hadn’t named it yet and Reggie’s country suggestions rarely struck inspiration.

They weaved and passed through the students still milling through the halls.

His rib burned and Luke rubbed at his side, suddenly finding his shirt scratchy and confining. Luke grimaced as the ache faded, fingers continuing to absentmindedly move over the little scribble he knew was inked into his skin.

Alex pushed his shoulder lightly and Luke’s head snapped up from the floor. “You okay, man? You’re acting a little weird this morning.”

“My tattoo has been itching like crazy since yesterday.” It felt like a bad sunburn peeling, the itch deep under his skin and no matter how much he tried, it just wouldn’t go away. “It’s never felt like this before.” he mumbled, hand dropping like it’d been burned.

Luke had gotten his tattoo last month, mere days after his seventeenth birthday. It wasn’t until Reggie had pointed it out with a yelp halfway through one of their practice sets that Luke had even noticed it. It just appeared, blink of an eye and it was there. His future flashing before his eyes. Settled right between his ribs in the most perfect script he’d ever seen, were the first words his soulmate would ever say to him. He wasn’t proud of it, but he had panicked, throwing his sweatshirt on and sulking for the rest of the afternoon in Bobby’s garage.

To this day, his bandmates were the only ones who knew about his mark and Luke trusted his boys to keep it to themselves until he was ready to tell people. Out of the four of them, he was the last one to get his tattoo so he never really had to explain the anxiety it came with. They all already knew, the pressure and anticipation it came with.

It wasn’t that he meant to keep it a secret and make his mother worried he’d never get his tattoo. Luke had meant to tell his parents about it as soon as he got home the day he received it but everytime he tried to talk to them about anything, the topic somehow came back around to college and Sunset Curve and how he was apparently throwing away his future. Safe to say, those talks ended with yelling, tears, slammed doors around the house and a new group therapy session added onto the family schedule.

Every time he caught sight of his tattoo it scared him. Like he was already letting whoever had his first words. Like he couldn’t live up to what they needed.

“You know,” Alex started slowly, glancing around the hall to make sure no one was within earshot. “Before I met Willie, for days my arm felt like it was about to fall off. Like I had fire ants crawling all over it.” Luke nodded, listening avidly. “And just when I started thinking something was wrong with me and I needed a doctor or something, _bam_!” he clapped his hands and Luke flinched back. “Willie pancakes me on the Walk of Fame.”

“So you think this,” he gestured at his side. “Could mean that I’m about to meet my-” he swallowed thickly. “Soulmate?” he said in a hushed voice.

Alex shrugged and dug his hands into his jean pockets, his eyebrows rose and he stared pointedly at his side. “Don’t know if I’m an authority on the subject but it’s either that or you fell into some poison ivy on the way to school and just didn’t notice.”

“I don’t-” he sighed. “Okay, so what if I’m about to meet _them_ soon? What do I do? Do I just tell them ‘hey it’s me, your soulmate, how’s it going? Oh and by the way, did you do the homework?’ What did you do when you met Willie?”

Alex rubbed his neck, “Nothing actually. I kind of panicked after he talked and I realized he said, you know, _the_ words then I fainted. So a pretty eventful moment.”

“Well,” Luke said. “What did Willie do?”

“He sat me down on a bench and held my hand,” he smiled sheepishly. “And made cheesy jokes about how I fell for him.”

“That’s sweet and all, Alex, but what if my soulmate ends up being…I don’t know, the one sided kind.” he grimaced.

Alex hit his shoulder roughly, “Don’t even think that! Those are incredibly rare.”

Luke glanced down, frowning when he realized his fingers had started scratching again on their own. He pulled his hand away and crossed his arms, refusing to walk around the halls looking like some sort of hive covered neanderthal. Alex patted him on the shoulder comfortingly before heading into his own class and Luke wondered if Alex received money from the universe for being the only sensible one in Sunset Curve.

He walked quickly to class, slipping between slow walking students and muttering half hearted apologies. When he arrived, the door to his chemistry class was closed and his classmates loitered outside, leaning against lockers and sitting around on the floor. Luke glanced around the hall as the bell rang and shrugged. With their teacher nowhere in sight, Luke sat next to a group of giggling girls and pulled out his phone.

**Reg:** k alex so on a scale of 1 to 10, how hard was that psych midterm

**Alex:** I heard the syllabus is totally different than last years so idk what to tell you

**Bobby:** apparently someone had a breakdown last period because of it

**Reg:** ...you aren’t making me feel better

**Bobby:** just guess your best, statistically you should get at least a C

**Reg:** passing grade! I’ll take it!

**Luke:** sending good vibes your way

**Alex:** lmao anyway Luke where are you at

**Luke:** Mr Donoghue is late…

**Alex:** legally you can leave after like twenty minutes

**Luke:** I didn’t study instead of practicing with you guys last night for him not to show up today

**Bobby:** lucky if you can leave ugh I’m in english pretending like I know wtf a rhetoric essay is

**Luke:** if he doesn’t show up then I’m heading to the garage early

**Reg:** sucks for you bobby

**Alex:** btw what time are we meeting up for practice tonight

Luke closed the groupchat just as Donoghue came around the corner. Luke hurried to get to his feet before he got in trouble for sitting around. Everyone followed suit, grabbing their things and waiting to be let into the class. It wasn’t until the door was open and people were filing inside that Luke noticed the curly haired girl lagging behind.

The first thing he noticed was how innocently pretty she was.

Her hair was wild and dark silk like chocolate, she pushed it gently out of her face and Luke followed her hand, completely mesmerized by the bounce of her curls. The stark contrast between her hair and the sweet powder blue dress left his mouth dry and he wondered if there was something wrong with him.

She looked down at a piece of paper and back up at the lockers lining the wall. Sighing, she rocked from the balls of her feet to her toes with a grin coming over her face when she found the one she was looking for. Unlocking it quickly and tossing her bag inside, she began to turn towards him. Flustered, Luke jerked back and fled into the lab.

_What the hell?_

He sat at his desk and pulled his textbook out, flipping the pages open to the last chapter they’d read in class. He heard the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief. Luke rubbed his neck, glancing when Mr Donoghue cleared his throat and the class started quieting down. Only to see the pretty girl from the hall standing at the front of the class.

And, as if the continued burn in his side and the ridiculous blush over his face wasn’t enough, Donoghue pointed out the empty seat beside him.

She sat next to him and Luke turned back to his textbook. Something about chemical compounds that he knew but couldn’t remember a single thing about.

Putting the book down in front of her she leaned over and, in the most angelic tone he had ever had the honour to hear, killed him. “Well he’s a ray of sunshine, huh?”

_Well he’s a ray of sunshine, huh?_

He had spent weeks mulling over that sentence. Had seen those exact words printed on his skin every time he changed and thought about them every time his arm brushed his side. And she’d said _the_ words so plainly, so simply, with a dimpled smile and without the slightest idea what she’d just done. That she just rocked his whole world upside down.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her bite her lip and push a strand of unruly hair behind her ear, “I’m Julie, it’s nice to meet you.”

Luke nodded, muttering under his breath, “Luke Patterson. Hi.”

“I just moved here,” Julie nudged him and shook her textbook towards him. “So you mind telling me which chapter we’re supposed to be reviewing, Luke Patterson?” she mocked with a little snort and Luke found a smile crawling over his face.

“Twelve,” he moved his arm out to show her the page number and his heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him in thanks.

For the rest of class, he stole glances at Julie. She was just so pretty and had this little twitch in her eyebrow when she was focusing. Every time their knees brushed under the desk, his breath hitched and it wasn’t until the bell rang and Julie waved goodbye nonchalantly that Luke realized what was wrong.

She’d had no reaction to him. No blush, no realization, nothing. And Luke’s heart fell through his ribs and into the pit of his stomach. The universe hadn’t left him without a soulmate. It gave him Julie, Julie who’s soulmate...wasn’t him.

* * *

Luke had gone the rest of the day in a daze. He couldn’t confirm going to class if asked, hell he couldn’t remember walking the four blocks to Bobby’s house. He found the boys in the studio, joking as they packed what Bobby wanted to take with him. Luke couldn’t remember opening his mouth or what came out of it but judging by the confused looks his friends gave him, they could scarcely understand him either.

Alex sat on the old couch in Bobby’s garage with his mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry can you repeat everything from when you ran in here?”

Reggie sat on a packet box, passing the tape gun between his hands. “Yeah, I didn’t really get anything after,” he raised his voice in a poor mimic of Luke’s. “My life is over.”

“Reg, less talking, more packing.” Bobby tossed a throw at their bassist. “The moving truck will be here in two days to move all this out to Malibu.”

“I hate that you’re moving, we have so many great memories in this garage and now some random family is moving in.”

Luke glanced between the boys as they talked normally, like his life hadn’t come to a standstill. “Guys!”

Alex looked back sheepishly, “Sorry, what did you want to tell us?”

Luke took a deep breath, shut his eyes. A crystal clear picture of Julie flashed behind his eyelids and he snapped his eyes open. “I found my soulmate today.”

Reggie dropped the guitar case he was holding and Bobby dropped the handful of records on the old coffee table. They moved to the couch next to Alex and stared up at him expectantly. Alex urged him to continue with a nod of his head and Luke shook his hands out, beginning to pace in front of the couch.

“Her name is Julie and she’s in my chemistry class.” the three continued to stare at him and Luke wrung his hands nervously.

“And?” Raggie pushed. “What’s she like? When do we get to meet her?”

Bobby gave him a pointed look, “Is she hot?”

“She- she’s beautiful.” he paused to send a glare towards Bobby before turning back to Reggie’s questioning look. “I’m not her soulmate.”

Luke could hear his own heartbeat thumping loudly in his ears in the silence that followed. Reggie stared off past his shoulder and Alex animatedly shook his head. Bobby covered his mouth and snorted behind his palm.

“How do you know she’s not? You’ve known her for what? One class period?”

He did have a point, right? Maybe she was just shy or not ready to talk about it? Or maybe she had the best poker face of all time...

“As _insensitive_ as that was,” Alex elbowed Bobby in the side and Luke couldn’t even enjoy it. “He has a point. How do you know you aren’t?”

“From what you’ve told me, meeting your soulmate is supposed to be life changing with fireworks and a happily ever after banner hanging over your head. Julie didn’t have a reaction to me at all - no shock, no happiness, _nothing_.”

“Maybe she’s a good actress?” Reggie offers up with a grimace.

Luke reached over to give Reggie a firm shake but quickly let him go when he yelped. “But _why_? Why would she act like I didn’t mean a thing?”

Alex shot up, arms raised in surrender. “Alright, Luke, you’re having some sort of a breakdown and I don’t know how to handle it. So I’m just going to ask you to sit down and take some deep breaths before you pass out.”

Luke let himself be pulled into an armchair, sinking into the cushion, drawing in a deep breath. Alex rubbed his back as he held his breath for a second before blowing it out slowly and repeating the motion, letting his mind clear with each breath, letting the brown eyes fade away.

He had thought about his soulmate before. He couldn’t think of anyone who hadn’t. When he’d first gotten his tattoo he wanted to pretend like it wasn’t there, at least for a while, that idea had only lasted until he was laying in bed that night trying to sleep. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was thinking about her.

In his mind, she was feisty and just as passionate about music as he is. She wouldn’t be upset if he spent hours practicing in a garage with his friends and came home sweaty and too tired to do anything. She would be smart enough to know when he’s being an idiot but sweet enough not to call him out on it every time. 

He’d only just met Julie and they’d barely talked but he just wanted to sit next to her and try to count the curls in her hair. Luke frowned and rubbed at his temples, he needed to _relax_ before he turned into a total creep. For God's sake, he’d only just met her today and there could be plenty of reasons why she didn’t realize their connection.

“I’m overthinking this, right?”

Alex and Reggie exchanged a look Luke pretended not to see and Alex nodded quickly. “Definitely! I’m sure it’ll all be fine. Just give her time, be nice and make her comfortable.”

“I’ll try.” he said. “She’s my partner for the midterm project so I guess I’ll have the time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all the fact that Luke realized his feelings for Julie while they sang Finally Free and she realized her feelings for him in the hall when they had the "you make me better" talk.


	2. Coffee

**~ Julie Molina ~**

When she came down the stairs her dad was burning an omelette - or what she thought was supposed to be an omelette, she couldn’t really tell from the questionable smell coming from the pan. Her dad was a barbecue guy, not an indoor kitchen guy and Julie really wished he’d stick with that. Especially when he tried to serve it up to Julie and Carlos.

Quietly, she grabbed an apple off the counter and ducked out before he could notice her and offer her whatever was already on the plates. Carlos wasn’t as lucky when he sleepily passed her into the kitchen with a groan and stopped cold when their dad turned, plate in hand. Julie hurried into the living room, packing her discarded books from the coffee table into her bag and heading out the door.

Flynn was waiting outside, leaning against her car with a bored little frown twisting the corners of her lips. “Hey girlie, you ready for class?”

“Only if we stop for coffee,” Julie rounded the car, shouldered her bag and climbed in.

“Uh oh,” she pulled out of the driveway, “You only drink coffee when you’re stressed, which I think is definitely the opposite of what you should do but who am I to ask questions.”

“Dad spent all of dinner last night trying to convince me to try out for the music programme at school.” she kicked her feet up on the dash and hugged her bag to her chest. “And then played all the High School Musical movies.”

“So Ray is taking you giving up music well.”

“What gave it away?.”

Flynn laughed and pulled into the Starbucks parking lot. Julie had only known Flynn for two months, since they met while Julie was touring the new house with her dad and Flynn and her parents came to introduce themselves. They’d hit it off right away and Julie felt like they’d known each other their whole lives.

Waiting in line, Julie scrolled through her snapchat stories and Flynn showed her cute kitten videos over her shoulder. Watching what her friends were doing back in New York wasn’t as painful as she thought it would be before she moved. It was nice being in a new city with new teachers and friends who didn’t give her pitying looks in the hallways at school. It was also pretty great having friends who actually liked Julie for herself not because they thought they could get something from her.

The line moved up and she sighed, putting away her phone and looked through the menu hanging over their heads. She and Flynn had made it a challenge to try everything on the menu eventually and she was wondering if it was too early for something pumpkin spiced.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Carrie sitting at one of the high tables and pointed her out to Flynn with a little giggle. Flynn snorted, muttering ‘demon’ under her breath and Julie shushed her before anyone could hear. Julie didn’t know why they disliked each other but when she’d tried to introduce herself to Carrie on her first day, the blonde had stuck her nose up in the air and rolled her eyes. Maybe it was petty but Julie trusted Flynn’s opinion and if she wasn’t a Carrie fan then neither was she.

“Hey, Jules.” she turned towards the voice with a smile.

“Hey, Luke,” he rubbed his neck and returned her smile. He was cute, a little weird, but with a perfect smile. “Did you decide on a subject for our midterm project? It’s due in two weeks and I’ve totally been slacking.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, I haven’t started on anything either.” Luke waved away her apology. “What have you been doing?”

“Unpacking mostly,” she said. “We just moved into our new house but with school taking up all my time, I haven’t been able to get anything done and it’s driving my dad crazy having boxes everywhere on the second floor. What about you?”

Luke laughed and reached back to pull his phone out of his pocket, “Just playing with the boys. Hey, uh. Can I have your number? We can text about the project and set up a meet time to work on the essay and presentation, maybe I can even help you unpack sometime.”

Julie pulled the phone out of his hand and grinned at Luke rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. She put her name and number in quickly and handed it back. He smiled down at her and Julie bumped his shoulder. “Don’t be weird, Patterson.”

She heard Flynn give her order and knew she should follow suit but Luke was smiling at her with his perfectly straight teeth and little crinkles in the corners of his eyes and the light blush over the apples of his cheeks. And it was stupid and girly and she hated it but Julie’s heart did a little flip when he tugged at his wallet chain nervously.

He held his hand over his heart and Julie grinned at the half dozen bracelets hanging off his wrist. “You wound me, Jules.”

“Completely on purpose, I promise you.”

“I see how it is!” he chuckles under his breath. “Careful there or you’ll have to find someone else’s notes to steal for chemistry.”

“Now it’s starting to feel personal.”

“Completely on purpose.” he mirrored and Julie pushed at his shoulder with a pout. “Actually I wanted to ask you something-”

“Dude! What’s taking so long?” A pair of boys Julie vaguely recognized from school draped themselves over Luke with matching grins.

“Screw off, I’ll get your latte.” he messed the blonde’s hair and Julie suppressed a smile when he hurriedly started trying to fix it. Luke twisted to shrug the brunet off and Julie caught sight of the tailend of his soulmate tattoo. _huh?_ And her stomach dropped.

It’s not like she was planning their wedding but Luke was always nice to her - in class he let her borrow his (terribly) written notes and he would walk her to her locker and always had her favourite gum - and she’d heard him humming under his breath enough to know he had a voice like velvet and it definitely didn’t hurt that he was stupidly attractive.

Weren’t teenage boys supposed to be pale and pimply with braces and bowl cuts hiding their eyebrows? Because someone had clearly forgotten to give Luke the memo.

“Who’s your friend?” the one in the leather jacket shot her a goofy grin that lit up his whole face. “I’m Reggie and this is Alex,” he pointed his thumb at the blonde boy still trying to fix his hair and glaring daggers at Luke.

“I’m Julie,” she gave an awkward little wave and wanted to fall into a deep hole when Alex’s mouth dropped open. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you guys.”

Flynn elbowed her in the side, “Girl, what do you want?”

She turned back to Flynn with a grimace when she noticed the barista giving her a dirty look for wasting her time. “Sorry, can I just get a white chocolate mocha with cinnamon on top?”

Reggie coughed loudly behind her and she glanced at him over her shoulder, only to find him doubled over and Luke smiling at her innocently. Julie was suspicious right away just by the wide puppy eyes he was giving her.

Paying, she moved to the other end of the counter and waited for her drink, playing with the stack of sugar packets.

“So,” Flynn said with a twitch in her eyebrow, “When were you going to tell me you were friends with Sunset Curve?”

Her face twisted in confusion and she shook her head. “Who now?”

“Sunset Curve, you know, them,” she discreetly pointed back to the three boys paying for their order. “Luke, Reggie, and Alex, Bobby too but he isn’t here. They’re really good, everyone thinks they’ll be signed on with a label before they graduate and,” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “They won the battle of the bands last year, apparently they’re going for a back to back victory this year too.”

Julie’s eyes widened, “That sounds impressive. I’m not really friends with them though, Luke is my chemistry partner and I just met the other two.”

“Chemistry alright,” Flynn muttered into her drink and Julie pretended not to hear as she grabbed hers and headed out the door before the boys could get to the counter with them.

The drive to school was mostly quiet, Flynn let her control the radio and Julie switched between the boring morning talk shows with a sigh. She settled on a 90’s rock station and shrugged when Flynn gave her a curious look, “Better this than listening to two middle aged men talk about high school. And anyways, this is a classic.”

She couldn’t help it that she was thinking about Luke’s tattoo, she was always curious about soulmate tattoos. Her parents had been soulmates and the little tattoo on her dad’s wrist was sometimes the only thing that made Julie feel like her mom had been real. And the way her dad talked about her mom, it was like they had known their whole lives who they were waiting for before they finally found each other, they instantly, ridiculously and wonderfully - just knew.

So for that alone, Julie had great faith in the soulmate marks.

But what kind of stupid soulmate tattoo was the word “huh”?

How was anyone supposed to find their soulmate if the only thing they had to go off of was something as generic and ordinary as “huh”? What if when she got her soulmate mark it was just the word “hello”, she had said a lot of hellos in her life and had a lot said back to her. What was she supposed to do then?

Then again Julie had only seen the little cursive word on his rib for a split second and there was probably more in front of that “huh”. The universe wouldn’t just give someone a single word like that, would it?

“Hey Julie,” Flynn shook her and Julie’s head snapped from her hands in her lap to realize they’d already parked in front of the school. “Where’d you go?”

“Just thinking,” she shrugged, hopping out of the car.

Flynn followed her into the school and together they weaved through the other students, sipping on their coffees as they made their way to their lockers. “About what?”

“Just some stuff for school.” she said, trying for nonchalance. A failure in itself when she had to put in her combination three times before her locker opened. “You know, for my big chemistry project and the english essay.”

“Oh, yeah, I can imagine that project being on your mind.” she grinned knowingly and Julie already regretted talking to Luke in line. “Is it a project with sweet puppy eyes and an aversion to sleeves and big biceps?” she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Well, I’ll tell you what,” Julie scrunched up her nose, trying very hard _not_ to think about that, especially before having to sit next to him all of homeroom. “Now I’m thinking about how to get out of this conversation.”

“My girl has a crush and his name is Luke,” she whispered across the hall and Julie tried to duck into the classroom before anyone could come around the corner.

Julie waved Flynn away frantically when her friend started making kissing faces. She laughed as she disappeared down the hall and Julie sat in her desk, looking over at the empty chair next to her. It was odd, she’d known him for such a short time but it was like they’d known each other all along.

Speaking of the devil, Luke marched into the room, his head bent over his phone. And Julie glanced down at her chest, her heart beating a little faster.

Would it kill him to wear a shirt with some sleeves?

Was he allergic?

“Hey partner,” he grinned and sat down in his chair.

“Hey partner.”

The class slowly filled up and Julie flipped through her textbook. Luke stayed on his phone the whole time, sending texts lightning fast well into when Donoghue started his lecture. She peered over his shoulder and Luke angled his phone so she could see better.

**Reg:** I can’t remember where I put the van keys

**Alex:** how did you lose them?? they’re attached to your house keys

**Reg:** do I need to spell it out to you?

**Luke:** oh honey no

* * *

When chemistry ended, Luke carried her books to her english class two halls down and it vaguely reminded her of cheesy teen movies. Despite how many times she tried to grab it off his shoulder, Luke playfully batted her hands away and Julie sighed dramatically. Pausing, Julie glanced at his side and felt guilt bubbling up in her stomach.

It wasn’t like she was trying to drag him into a janitor's closet to make out but even the little fuzzy feeling in her chest when he smiled at her felt like a betrayal to whoever’s handwriting was on Luke’s rib.

“What are you doing after class?” he leaned against the lockers next to the door. “We could meet up and work on the project?”

She tried to smile but it came off as more of a grimace, “I can’t, I’m sorry, I promised my brother I would go watch his baseball game after school.”

“I’m sure he’ll knock it out of the park.” Luke grinned and pulled at the stray curl hanging over her shoulder teasingly. Julie couldn’t help smiling back and the little voice in the back of her head whispered ‘ _he has a soulmate, you idiot’_ over and over again.

“Well, isn’t this cute?”

Luke groaned and Julie took a step away from him. She hadn’t even realized how close they’d gotten in the first place and she berated herself. “Carrie,” he nodded to the blonde and turned back to Julie. “I’ll text you?”

“Okay, text you later,” he handed her her textbooks and turned to leave.

Julie waved at Alex and Reggie over his shoulder. Reggie sent her an obnoxious wink and Julie pretended not to notice.

She hadn’t noticed Carrie still standing there until she spoke. “You know he has a soulmate, right? And whatever people say about me, at least _I’d_ never go after a bonded man.”

“How do you even-”

Carrie waved a flippant hand, “Nick has him in gym and he saw his tattoo.”

“Can I help you with something?” she asked, angry at the shameful blush colouring her cheeks and holding the books closer to her chest.

“You might not have any respect for the rest of us but at least have some decency when it comes to something as sacred as the soulmate bond.” she hissed, shouldering past her into the class. “Or if not for the bond then at least yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr (syfygirl1998)  
> or instagram (nysa_martell)!  
> I've been posting a lot of JATP there


	3. The Old Studio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you guys think I should amp up the rating to an M? because I'm not known for sticking to a plan so this cutesy idiots in love fluff change at literally any point (keep an eye on the tags) and I don't want to scar anyone oop-
> 
> ALSO LET ME KNOW IF THERE ARE MISTAKES BECAUSE I HAVE NO BETA I DIE DUMB

**~ Luke Patterson ~**

**Reg:** morning y'all

**Alex:** morning

**Luke:** why are you texting us from the kitchen but more importantly, alex why are you responding

**Alex:** you’re texting me from two feet away so whos the real loser

**Luke:** still you

**Reg:** I’m lonely also your mom says you forgot to do the dishes

**Luke:** …shit

**Bobby:** it’s 6 in the morning why are you animals awake

**Alex:** to be honest I don’t remember going to bed in the first place

**Reg:** you passed out sometime after the season 1 finale

**Luke:** I remember the world was about to be invaded and the team was trying to save it

**Bobby:** what were you marathoning?

**Reg:** only the best science fiction show ever

**Luke:** stargate sg-1!

**Bobby:** fun but can you not spam the chat this early ?? I was up late studying

**Alex:** when have you studied a day in your life

**Bobby:** last night was the first and only time

**Luke:** so your grades this year will be great

**Reg:** you’re one to talk Mr C average

**Luke:** hey now put away the claws

**Reg:** I can’t, I’m busy WASHING YOUR DISHES

**Luke:** YOU DON’T HAVE TO

**Alex:** we all know you aren’t going to do them

**Luke:** why are we still texting

**Alex:** too lazy to talk

**Bobby:** not too lazy to spam me awake

**Reg:** silence your phone??

**Bobby:** JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER

**Alex:** no ♥️

**Bobby:** why are you like this

**Luke:** why aren’t you

**Bobby:** I’m normal okay let me live

**Reg:** where would you be if you had a normal group of friends

**Bobby:** happily still asleep

**Alex:** when you put it that way you’re right

**Bobby:** never question me again

  
**Luke:** where’s the fun in that

* * *

Alex tossed his pillow up from the floor, hitting Luke square in the face. He blinked up at his ceiling and groaned, burying his fingers in his mop of hair. He was too tired to retaliate and the blinking tv didn’t help his burning eyes. It wasn’t his best idea to watch an entire season in one night instead of sleeping, especially when the boys wanted to spend all day finding somewhere new to practice.

“Have you noticed something off with Bobby?” Alex asked and Luke pushed himself up to his elbows to look down at where Alex was laying on the floor.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s been skipping rehearsals, he’s snappy all the time and…” he sighed. “Do you feel like ever since he moved and started hanging out with his rich neighbours, he doesn’t want to hang out with us anywhere? It’s like he’s embarrassed to be seen with us.”

Luke frowned, looking at the peeling posters hanging over his walls. He shrugged, “Honestly he’s never been as invested in the band as the rest of us.”

Smacking a hand over his mouth, Luke’s eyes widened. He must be a lot more tired than he thought because he hadn’t meant to say that and judging by the look on Alex’s face, he hadn’t expected it to be said either.

Luke felt guilty for thinking it, let alone saying it outloud. But it was true.

Reggie’s parents could barely stand to be in the same room. According to Reggie, his parents had never really gotten along in the first place, staying together only for Reggie. But as the years dragged on, it became less about Reggie and more about habits. Becoming used to the cold silences, screaming matches through the night and midday drinking. So used to it that they didn’t know how to live without it.

They’d bought Reggie his first guitar when he was nine to distract him from the fall down the stairs he’d taken thanks to a drunken blunder by his mother. And in the years that followed, music slowly but surely became his earplugs against the constant fighting.

Alex’s parents were nice and supportive. Of the band. In the same way Reggie’s parents were grateful to just have him out of the house, Alex’s parents were happy he had an after school hobby to keep him busy. And Alex didn’t have the heart to tell them that it wasn’t just a hobby he would remember fondly at their ten year high school reunion. But the beauty of Alex’s relationship with his parents was that he kept them blissfully in the dark, about everything.

From his actual career plans to his soulmate.

Alex just wanted to make his parents proud and happy because he loves them and Luke understood that so he kept his mouth shut just the same. But eventually the truth would come out, it had a nasty way of doing that. And when it did, Luke just hoped Alex would be okay when the dust settled.

Luke’s parents tried to understand his love of music but they couldn’t and with every failed therapy session, he knew they understood it less. His mother didn’t want him in a rock band to begin with. Emily wanted him focused on college and finding his soulmate so he could get married and settle down with some kids in a nice house and a stable 9-to-5 job. Mitch just wanted Luke to, in his words, get his head out of the clouds and start thinking about his future.

What his parents didn’t understand, what none of their parents understood, was that the band _was_ their future.

The passion, the drive they had for music wasn’t something people found every day. There were people who went their whole lives without finding their calling.

When they’d decided to start the band in sophomore year, all of them had sacrificed something - time, energy, grades, a stable relationship with their parents - and when they’d signed on for the battle of the bands last year it had become an even bigger beast - this need to play, to perform, to climb the ladder of show business until they were at the very top.

Luke had thought that winning would show his parents that this wasn’t just a childish idea, that the band could make it big. Instead, it’d done the opposite. His parents had started him in therapy and told him that if his grades dropped below a C they would take away his guitar.

“What are we talking about?” Reggie flopped down on the bed, jarring Luke out of his thoughts. He hadn’t even heard him come in.

“Bobby,” Alex muttered.

“What about him?”

Luke rolled his neck and popped his fingers, trying to wake himself up, “Just that he’s acting weird and not showing up for the band.”

“He did skip the last like six rehearsals,” Reggie gnawed at his lip, nervous fingers pulling at the messy blanket. “Or spent the whole time packing.”

Maybe they were thinking too much into this, Bobby just moved, of course he’d be pretty busy for awhile. Everything would go back to normal in a week when he was settled.

Or so the boys told themselves.

By the time the three of them managed to get up and looking more human than sleep deprived teenage monsters , it was past noon.

They were hungry, tired and still had nowhere to practice. Reggie’s place was automatically out of the running, Alex lived in an apartment complex and Luke’s parents would probably evict them from the garage ten minutes into their first practice. They thought about Bobby’s new place but that was a last resort. It was too far to drive every day, twice a day and Bobby hadn’t offered.

And while normally the boys shared everything, Luke felt weird asking Bobby to let them practice in his garage when it hadn’t been put on the table and Bobby had been so disconnected from the band recently.

So the three of them sat on the curb outside of Luke’s house like strays.

Alex sighed heavily, “Do you guys want to swing by the studio and grab the last of our stuff? The new owner said it was cool.”

“Man,” Reggie kicked at a pebble. “I’m going to miss that place. We have so many great memories there. Recording and practicing and hanging out.”

Not to mention that at one point or another they’d all been allowed to crash there. Reggie when his parents got too angry too often, Luke when his mom badgered him on about the band one too many times in a day, Alex when he just needed some space to be himself for a minute.

“So studio?” Reggie asked, pulling out his van keys.

“Yeah,” they dusted themselves off and followed Reggie towards the beat up old Chevy parked next to his mailbox. “And hey you found your keys.”

Reggie beamed, “Yup! I’d just left them in the glove compartment.”

“That’s not-“ Alex started, under his breath. “You shouldn’t- nevermind.”

It was rusted and pale white with a broken left tail light and the engine made weird noises when they went over fifty. The three of them had pulled their shares of the battle of the bands victory money to buy it but it needed a lot of fixing up before it could be called an actual band van. And none of them knew what they were doing under the hood of a car so that was problem number one. They climbed in and Luke picked at a loose thread sticking up from the faux leather front seat. They’d yanked the other seats out of the back to make room for their instruments when going to gigs but now they were packed because they had nowhere to set up.

Reggie drove slower than the speed limit, his head turning from side to side like a bobblehead. Luke and Alex exchanged amused looks but didn’t say anything. Reg took driving seriously and wouldn’t even let the guys think about driving the van. Even though Luke couldn’t imagine what kind of an accident could make their van worse.

Maybe a head on collision with a train could pancake it.

They pulled up to the house and Luke jumped out. “You sure the new family is good with us just dropping in like this?”

Alex nodded, “I only talked to Ray for a few minutes when I had to grab my textbook because mom was waiting in the car, but he was cool.”

“I don’t think anybody is here,” Reggie pointed at the empty driveway.

“No, look,” Luke said. “Lights are on in the living room.”

“Let’s go knock,” Alex shifted uncomfortably. “I feel weird staring through their windows like I’m planning on stealing their tv later.”

“Why specifically their tv?”

“I just feel like that’s always what people steal and I’m not an original thief.”

“How would you know what people steal?” Reggie asked. “Do you have a sordid past you’ve just never mentioned?”

“I’ve seen movies!”

“And how many of those movies ended with the robbers getting away?”

“Why are you questioning this so much?” Alex shook Reggie’s arm, climbing the stairs. “I’m not actually going to do anything.”

“Guys!” Luke hissed as he lifted his fist to knock, rounding on them. “Maybe it’s not the best idea if our first impression with whoever is inside is ‘hey I’m going to rob you’.”

“You’re going to what?”

Luke froze, his hand prone to knock and his face slack. Alex covered his mouth to hide the wide grin spreading over his face and Reggie snorted so loudly that a pained flinch rocked his body for a split second.

A little dimwitted part of his brain whispered, _if you don’t move Julie can’t see you_.

“Um,” she poked his shoulder until he turned on his heels. “Hey, Luke. What are you doing at my house? Or should I ask why you’re announcing that you’re going to rob me?”

“No, no, no,” he chanted, wildly waving his hands. “I’d never rob you,” Alex cleared his throat pointedly and Reggie elbowed him. “ _ We’d _ never rob you. We were just talking movies.”

She smiled at him and Luke felt the beat of his heart still then jump into his throat. “So,” she stressed. “What are you doing here...at my house?”

And that’s when Luke realized just how strange this probably was. Julie hadn’t known him for long enough for him to show up without warning at her front door, let alone dragging two of his friends with him. There went his chances of Julie thinking he was normal.

How was he supposed to win his soulmate’s heart - Julie’s heart - if she thought he was a loser who stalked her?

“I didn’t know you lived here,” he said sheepishly, rubbing at the nape of his neck. “This is where me and the boys used to practice,” he pointed towards where he knew the studio was. “We have some stuff still in there and the guys said your dad was cool with us dropping by.”

“Okay, the studio is unlocked, let me grab some shoes and I’ll come with.” Julie shrugged and her loose t-shirt dropped off her shoulder. Luke’s eyes dropped to the smooth almond skin and his mouth went dry. Her pretty pink lips quirked into a smile and he could hear Alex’s voice from his left but he couldn’t for the life of him hear what he was saying.

Julie disappeared through the door and the boys grabbed his arms, gently pulling him down the patio stairs and towards the backyard. He blinked and found Reggie grinning at him.

“Dude,” he slung his arm over his shoulder. “You’re so-”

“Smitted,” Alex cooed into his ear and Luke pushed them off.

“She’s my soulmate, it’s all in the cards for me. Pining forever.” he said wistfully.

Reggie groaned loudly, shaking him roughly. “Don’t be depressing! There could be a lot of reasons why it hasn’t happened yet.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Alex glanced over his shoulder to check if Julie was coming. “But Reggie is right. There could be a lot of reasons why she hasn’t talked to you about it, maybe you should try talking to her? Be transparent about all of it.”

“Talk to who?” the three of them jumped and whipped around to where Julie was leaning over the side of the steps, grinning at them with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Luke gapped at her, “How do you do that?”

“It’s a gift.” she hopped past them and paused in front of the sliding doors.

Luke knew from experience that those doors could be tricky to open. He reached past her and lifted the left door a little off the ground before pulling them apart and opening them fully. “You just have to make sure the hinges aren’t jammed.”

He looked towards her and realized just how close he’d gotten. His chest was pressed into Julie’s side, the warmth from her skin seeping through his jacket and the soft fabric of her shirt brushed his collar. He tried to breathe in deeply, a mistake by any means when her flowery perfume wrapped around him.

How could someone look so beautiful on just a regular day?

Her curly hair was thrown in a bun and whisps fell over her shoulder. Unthinkingly, Luke reached a tentative hand and brushed a strand behind her ear. Her lips parted and his breath caught in his throat when she blinked up at him - chocolate brown eyes searching his.

Whatever she found, it wasn’t what she was looking for and she dropped her gaze to his chest, pushing away from him gently. And Luke felt like his heart was being trampled.

“We should probably-” she cleared her throat and stepped around him into the studio, her back staying against him, tugging at the hem of her shirt self consciously. “Let’s get your stuff.”

Reggie and Alex shot him apologetic looks as they followed her in and Luke looked at the spot she had been standing in a second ago.

What had he done to upset her?

Did he smell? Did it make her uncomfortable having him so close to her?

Chastising himself, Luke shoved his hands in his pockets with a promise to keep his hands to himself. Plastering a smile on his face, he went into the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr (syfygirl1998)  
> or instagram (nysa_martell)!


	4. Something Stupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New juke fanfic coming soon! And, as always, I have no beta so if you find any mistakes tell me!

**~ Julie Molina ~**

She was ignoring him.

Well, she was _trying_ to ignore him.

It wasn’t like he was going out of his way to get her attention. But even standing next to the ratty couch and helping Alex pack their wayward belongings from around the garage, Luke drew her eyes to him with little effort. It was like a glaring big arrow hung over his head, flashing a bright red that refused to let Julie look away for more than a second.

The butterflies in her stomach hadn’t gone away since his little stunt with the door. Julie didn’t know if he’d done it on purpose but standing that close to him - feeling the warmth of his chest against her side, his breath hot as it washed over her face and the drop in his voice as he spoke close to her ear - had sent her stomach plummeting to her feet.

Reggie was up in the loft, tossing down trashbags full of clothes and the more bags that piled up on the floor, the more Julie wondered just how much of their stuff was shocked in her garage. Alex was digging through the bathroom for whatever they had stashed in there and Luke was flipping through a worn out composition notebook.

“So,” she crossed her arms and jumped a little when a heavier bag dropped right in front of her. “How much stuff do you guys have in here?”

Reggie peeked his head over the railing and smiled down at her. “Bobby’s parents might have owned the house but the guys and I rented out the garage.”

“Yeah,” Alex pitched in. “We put together all of our allowance and summer job money. And since we were paying for it, we just kept some of our stuff here.”

Luke hadn’t looked up but Julie could see the dark flush covering his cheeks from across the room. He looked cute, standing in his element and focused on his notebook, shifting his feet to a beat only he could hear. Julie pressed her lips together to keep from smiling.

“How much is _some_ stuff?” she eyed the pile on the floor as she crossed the floor to sit at the piano bench.

It felt strange sitting on the piano bench.

The last time she had played the piano, her mom had still been alive. Julie could remember the gentle way her mom had taught her to play when she’d been younger, holding her fingers over the right notes for Julie to follow until she knew them by heart. She’d been so patient with her, calm and collected and Julie’s love for music had grown with her. But when her mother passed, it was like a plug tapered her want to play and perform.

Sometimes when she sat in the studio, surrounded by all of her mother's things and the instruments she used to play, it felt like her mother would walk through the door at any moment. But Julie knew better, therapy had taught her better than that and if the boys weren’t with her, Julie wouldn’t dare be in the studio.

Her mother hadn’t spent time in this particular studio, Rose hadn’t decorated the walls or picked out the furniture like in their old house. But the piano was hers, the six string leaning against the wall was hers, the boxes filled with song journals and old CDs were hers, the record player and fluffy blanket thrown over the couch and the stack of records were hers. The space felt hers even if she’d never been there.

“Julie?”

Her head snapped up to find three pairs of concerned eyes looking back at her from around the garage. She breathed in deeply and it caught in her throat, “Sorry?”

“Um,” Luke ran his fingers through his hair and Julie’s hands itched to reach forward and see if it was as soft as it looked. She clutched them into fists and pulled them into her lap. “You’ve been staring off into space.”

Julie frowned, embarrassed to be vulnerable in front of three boys she barely knew, no matter how cute she thought one of them was. “I’m sorry, I just got lost in my head for a second. You were telling me about all that.” she pointed at the pile at their feet.

“Well,” Reggie carried himself forward, ignoring the look Luke threw at the back of his head. “It’s always been cool having this place just for us.”

“You said you don’t have anywhere to go.” Luke’s face dropped, his eyes squeezed shut and Julie felt guilty for making him feel like he had anything to be ashamed of. “Because,” she found herself saying. “That’s a lot of things you have there with nowhere to go.”

Alex shrugged, “This was just our space.”

Julie glanced around the studio. It wasn’t hers and, despite what her mind kept telling her when she walked into the studio, it wasn’t her mothers either. But the boys thought of it as theirs - they’d practically moved in by the looks of it.

What was it that her therapist had said?

 _Moving forward doesn’t mean moving on_.

What did that even mean? Therapy three times a week for a year and Julie still had no idea what the hell he was talking about half the time. In her opinion that defeated the purpose of going to therapy at all but she wasn’t an expert and there was a reason why she hadn’t gone back since they moved to the new house.

“Reggie, put down the banjo.” she sighed and the boy froze, hands outstretched towards the banjo hanging on the wall. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

Luke’s eyes widened and she could see a twitch in the corner of his lip. He stepped around Reggie and Julie stood from the bench, wringing her hands. “You mean that, Molina?”

“Only if you promise not to be an annoyance, Patterson.”

Alex snorted, “Don’t make him lie to you, Julie.”

“Hey!” His friends gave him an exasperated look, one Julie thought they were too comfortable wearing, and Luke pouted. “You don’t have to be so mean about it.”

 _He looks like an angry kitten when he frowns like that_ , she mused, a giggle escaped her and Julie pressed her fingers to her lips to cover her growing smile. Luke’s face lit up at the sound and Julie looked away from him.

Reggie rushed to her and swept her up in a hug. She squealed as her feet swung around as she hugged him back. He smelled like leather and Julie buried her nose in his shoulder, letting his warm embrace champion her decision. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

They broke apart and Luke kept tugging at his arm with a pitiful grimace on his face until Julie was fully out of his arms. Reggie jostled him with a good natured roll of his eyes.

Before she could question it, Alex gave her a bashful hug that put a smile on her face. “Are you sure your dad is okay with this?”

“He said I could do whatever I want with this place,” she waved a hand around the studio. “And I’m not using it so knock yourselves out.”

Arching his eyebrow, Alex pointedly looked at the piano behind her. It was the biggest addition to the space and Julie was sure it would appreciate getting some use. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I don’t play.” with the three of them looking down at her, Julie felt like she could to explain more. Not like she had to, but she could if she wanted to. There wasn’t the usual pressure to talk about anything that came with new people asking questions. “It’s my moms.”

Luke had disappeared behind her, poking around the boxes her dad had moved in. She bit her lip to stop from batting his hands away when he knocked over the top box filled with old musical theory journals. Muttering apologies, Luke dropped to his knees to clean it up. His clumsiness was adorable, especially with the light flush over his cheeks and down his neck.

“And she won’t mind?” Reggie asked innocently.

Julie shook her head quietly.

“Woah,” she turned to find Luke sitting on the floor, crinkled paper in his hands. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “This is really good, Jules. Did you write it?”

Julie took the papers out of his outstretched hand and flipped through the sheet music until her fingers paused at the last page, the little note from her mom at the bottom of the page brought a fresh mist over her eyes. “No, my mom did.”

“The lyrics are killer,” Luke smiled enthusiastically. “She’s really talented.”

“Was.”

Luke’s face dropped. Alex reached forward and dropped a hand on her shoulder. Giving it a gentle squeeze, Julie moved away from his hand.

If she let herself be comforted by the boys, if she let herself let go of everything weighing her down then she would fall apart and Julie didn’t know if she had it in her to put herself back together. And she couldn’t keep being the broken little girl whose mother died, her dad and Carlos needed her to be stronger than that. She was already breaking their hearts by refusing to audition for the music program.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” she mirrored. “You didn’t know.”

The silence that followed was the type Julie was used to, the kind that suffocated her and made her skin scrawl and all she wanted was to make it go away. Her fingers curled at the hem of her shirt and she twisted it nervously, angry at herself for making the boys feel bad. A gentle touch brought her eyes down to her hand.

Luke, sitting cross legged on the dusty floor with a guilty look covering his face. He pried the fabric out from between her fingers and rubbed slow circles on her palm, sending a warm fuzzy feeling up her arm. His hands were covered in calluses from playing guitar and Julie found she liked that more than the idea of soft, smooth hands.

It showed his dedication to his music and Julie felt an electric jolt pass between their hands. She smiled down at him softly and her heart jumped into her throat as his thumb kept soothing her palm, tracing random little patterns into her skin. Julie felt her nerves rush out from her lungs in puffs of air.

Then realization dawned on her and Julie pulled her hand away, crossing her arms and refusing to look back at him. “So you guys can put your things back up,” she passed by Alex and Reggie with a nod. “I’ll come help after I call my dad.”

She hurried out the door and climbed the stairs towards the house in a jog.

Before dialing her dad, she clicked on the messenger app, shooting Flynn a panicked text.

**Julie:** alright I take it back

**Flynn:** expand on that

**Julie** : I may have a crush

**Flynn:** I KNEW IT

**Julie:** don’t get too excited I’m recruiting you to help me get rid of it

**Flynn:** I knew there was a catch

**Julie:** I have a feeling you’re gloating

**Flynn:** you’re feelings are on point today

**Julie:** just help meeee

**Flynn:** alright first things first...how did you figure out you like him

**Julie:** well you know how dad said a ‘ _little boy band_ ’ had been using the garage to play before we moved in? TURNS OUT it was Luke’s little boy band and they came over to grab their stuff

**Flynn:** oh my goddd you’re kidding!! but there’s more right??

  
 **Julie:** how likely are you to let it go if I say no

* * *

**~ Alex Mercer ~**

Alex watched Julie flash out of the studio.

Reggie tugged on his hoodie and nodded towards where Luke still sat on the ground surrounded by the mess he’d made. His hand was still outstretched to where Julie had been standing a second ago with a lost look twisting his face.

He exchanged a look with Reggie and together they hauled Luke up by his arms and sat him down on the couch. Sitting on either side of him, the boys hugged him.

Alex shook him lightly. “Hey, buddy.”

“I don’t get it,” Luke said softly. “I’m trying but it’s like any time I get close to her, Julie takes ten steps away from me.”

“What if,” Reggie tapped his chin. “Instead of trying to get her to like you the way you like her, you just tell her she’s your soulmate and figure things out from there together? I mean you guys ooze chemistry.”

“You should never say the word ooze again,” Alex said. “But yes, I agree.”

Luke shook his head rapidly, hair falling into his eyes and he half heartedly pushed it away. “I can’t do that! I’ll scare her even more! We’ve only been friends for a few weeks and you guys think I should just spring this on her? Just ‘hey Jules did you know you’re my soulmate and every time you walk into the room it’s like the world lights up and I forget how to talk and my hands get gross and sweaty but anyways I was wondering if you wanted to grab coffee sometime and talk about it?’ That’ll go over well!”

Alex grimaced, “Maybe just start with the coffee part.”

“And stop at the coffee part,” Reggie patted Luke’s shoulder.

Burying his face in his hands, Luke dug his fingers into his hair, grasping it tightly and groaned loudly. Alex couldn’t imagine how hard this was for him, he and Willie had their own challenges but the thought of Willie not even knowing they were soulmates made a ball of heavy lead sink into his stomach.

As his father would say, soulmates were created to balance each other. He knew that was true with him and Willie. While Alex was constantly worried and could get fairly emotional when the occasion called for it, Willie was carefree and had a way of putting everything in perspective for Alex. He’d only met Julie twice so far but he could already tell she was the cool and collected side to Luke’s reckless and wild side. Maybe she could even convince him to study once in a while so Alex wouldn’t keep worrying about him graduating.

“Luke,” he started. “You’re a great person. A little rough around the edges but who isn’t? And Julie,” Luke made a deep growling sound into his hands. “ _Julie_ will get to know you and she’ll realize her soulmate is amazing.”

“And happily ever after!” Reggie added with a bright grin.

He pulled away, his eyes blank. “Or she’ll keep pulling further and further away until she meets someone and they fall in love and I’m just standing on the sidelines watching it all happen because she deserves to be happy even if it’s not with me and -”

Alex had only seen Reggie snap a handful of times in their lifelong friendship.

Reggie surged up from the couch, startling the boys into silence. “Stop it, you dumbass! Soulmates are special, not everyone is lucky enough to find theirs,” he glanced down at himself and Alex felt a pang in his chest. “But you found Julie! So stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it. Maybe it’s not the time to tell her you’re soulmates but don’t stop trying to show her how special you think she is.”

He dug his hands deep into his pockets and shuffled his feet with a frown.

Alex knew how hard the topic of soulmates could get for Reggie. His parents weren’t soulmates and they always fought, making his homelife hell. Alex knew Reggie had been waiting anxiously to find his soulmate, just to have someone who would be there for him unconditionally - other than Alex and Luke of course. But so far, he’d had no luck.

“You’re right, Reg,” Luke said. “I won’t give up!”

His phone buzzed in his pocket and Alex excused himself. He smiled down at the goofy picture taking up the screen before pulling it up to his ear. “Hey.”

“Hey babe.” and Alex could hear the smile in his voice. “I was hoping to take my rockstar boyfriend out to dinner tonight, what do you think?”

His mood immediately dropped and he kicked at the ground, “I can’t. My dad wants us to host a church potluck at the house.” _and you can’t come_ went without saying. “Saturday?”

Alex could hear Willie’s sigh over the phone down to his bones and he tried not to let the crushing disappointment kill him. “I can’t, Caleb has me working the whole weekend.”

Willie never got angry with him. Not that they couldn’t hold hands, kiss or go on dates in public without lying and hiding from Alex’s parents. Their last date had been to a movie theater two hours away and halfway through the bucket of popcorn Alex’s mother had texted, telling him to get home from his ‘school research trip’.

Alex was lucky that Willie was always so understanding, but Alex was starting to get mad with himself and his parents and all of society that decided something was wrong with him because he liked boys. He was angry that they couldn’t be normal boyfriends - hell, they couldn’t even call each other that. But the universe gave them each other for a reason, right?

That’s not how soulmates were supposed to be.

Now that they’d found each other they were supposed to be together all the time - doing all the cheesy coupley things people did in movies. Not sneaking around like middle schoolers because dammit they deserve a romantic montage.

“Alex?”

“Sorry, got lost in my head.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Willie said into the phone. “We’ll figure this out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr (syfygirl1998)  
> and insta (nysa_martell)!


	5. Bruises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I might be pushing the T rating now...  
> I'm sorry, this was meant to come out sooner but the election had me occupied waiting for the good news then I had to catch up with university assignments that I procrastinated on for the same reason but here you go!

**~ Reggie Peters ~**

The slap sounded around the living room and Reggie staggered back. It wasn’t that it was particularly painful anymore, his body had grown used to his mother’s constant lashing out, it was the shock that pushed him back against the wall. He gripped his cheek and swallowed the bitter iron taste in his mouth.

Because his mother wasn’t drunk and she never hit him if she wasn’t drunk.

That little piece of information had comforted Reggie for years, because it meant his mother loved him, it was just the alcohol that couldn’t stand him. And she wasn’t drunk all the time so it was okay that sometimes she would take her anger out on him, wasn’t it?

When he was younger, it was the occasional weekend bender that had him nursing a black eye or bruises on his chest, when she worked too long hours and his father hadn’t come home that night. Reggie would make her pictures with bright coloured crayons to cheer her up but they ended up in the trash along with the empty glass bottles.

Then he’d gotten a little older, his loud and energetic side hadn’t gone away, much to his parents disappointment. Reggie had tried to dull his enthusiasm when he was home, try to be gray and bland and quiet. Stay in his room, not make any noise, clean up when his parents went to bed so they wouldn’t start the next day angry.

But when his dad was laid off last year, it only got worse.

Robert would sit on the couch all day, scarfing down potato chips and knocking back can after can of cheap beer. Helen had started a second job to make sure they could afford the house and food to put on the table. She had started drinking more as time went on and his father remained seated in front of the television.

Sitting against the wall now, Reggie wondered if all little kids grew up wondering if their mother was drunk enough to hate them.

He’d seen enough television to know what picture perfect childhoods were supposed to look like. The laughter and toothy smiles, the whipped cream smiley faces on pancakes in the mornings, the ripped wrapping paper all over the floor on Christmas morning.

It was a nice daydream when he was a boy.

When he nursed cuts and bruises and broken fingers. When Luke doodled little sharpie music notes on his casts and Alex used highlighters to make the white plastic rainbow instead. When his parents argued and kept him up all night and he woke up covered in sweat from the loud breaks of plates against the floor or walls.

“Wha-” he touched the corner of his lip, blinking at the smudge of red colouring his fingertip. “What did I do wrong?”

“You were born,” she sneered down at him.

Reggie dropped his eyes to his feet, tugging his legs into his chest. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” his father snapped from the couch. “Just be better for once.”

Reggie nodded, quietly rising to his knees and pushing himself into the corner. His mother stormed past him and he clamped his eyes shut, his skin prickling and he almost jumped out of his skin when the bedroom door slammed closed.

 _Deep breaths. In and out. In and out_.

His shaking hands rubbed at his arms, scratching, digging his nails until the skin was raw. Stale air filled his lungs and Reggie made a note to air out the living room in the morning.

Maybe that’s why his mother was unhappy with him. He had been spending more time with Alex and Luke moving their things from and then back into the studio, and his teachers had handed out more homework as their idea to prepare them for midterms. With all that going on, Reggie had been too busy and tired to clean.

“Pull yourself together boy,” Reggie’s head snapped up and he stood up on shaky legs. He wiped at his nose, cringing at the snotty splotches left on his sleeve. “Clean that up,” he pointed at the pile of glass shards. “Then go to the store and buy something for dinner. There’s some money on the counter.”

Reggie shrugged off the sting in his cheek and hurried to the mess. He couldn’t see a brush or dustpan near by and from the loud, annoyed sigh his father wasn’t happy with the time Reggie was wasting. He pulled his sleeves over his palms and swept the pieces into a little pile, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as the smaller splinters pierced through the fabric and stuck into his skin.

He bit his lip until the sharp taste of blood hit his tongue. Sweeping away the mess with his hands, Reggie quickly tossed it in the bin before whipping down the floor with a wet tissue to make sure nobody would step on anything when he was gone.

Pocketing the few bills on the counter, Reggie ignored the blotches of red that stained his sleeve and the edges of the money. Quickly, he rushed out of the house, desperate to get some space between him and his parents. If even for a little while.

On the short walk to the Chinese restaurant on the corner, Reggie counted the money. There wasn’t enough for what his parents wanted and what he would want but he’d make due.

When he walked through the door, Reggie inhaled the familiar smell of fried rice, tangy vegetable stir fry and sizzling pork wafting from the small kitchen order window. He waved at the regular waitress as she passed him and turned to the counter.

“May I have a number 6 with carrots and a number 12 without onions, please?” Reggie quickly rattled off, mentally tallying up the total before adding, “and two egg rolls.”

He put down the money and smiled as the cashier handed him back a few silver coins, Reggie dropped them in the tip jar and took the little plastic number for his order. Making his way to the back of the little restaurant, Reggie checked to make sure the bathroom was empty before he slipped inside and locked the door.

He stepped up to the mirror with trepidation, blinking, Reggie stared at his reflection.

It was like he was staring at a shadow of himself.

Pale skin, almost sickly. A light purplish bruise coloured over the apple of his cheek, quickly turning darker the longer he looked. But it wasn’t the bruise that shocked him, he was used to the greens and blues and purples that blossomed over his skin regularly, it was his eyes that frightened him. His normally vivid green were glossed over and blank. And Reggie wondered how long it would take the light to come back.

He reached up, gently prodding the edge of the bruise. Flinching from the sting in his fingertips, Reggie pulled his hands away. Tiny cuts ran along his palms and up his fingers, dried blood stained his skin and Reggie turned the water on.

Scrubbing the dried blood away, he wrapped his hands in a paper towel and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. They’d heal, be as good as new in a few days and the only reminder would be the thin, white, barely noticeable scars left behind.

By the time he came back out, his order was ready and he grabbed it off the counter with a smile. He walked quickly, practically jogging to make it back to the house before the food got cold and his parents got angry with him again.

“Took you long enough,” his father called over his shoulder as Reggie came through the front door. “If you took any longer your mother would’ve locked the door.”

“Good thing I came back before that,” he mumbled quietly enough not to be heard.

And he didn’t know if he meant it. It wouldn’t be the worst to sleep in the shed with Chinese food, it was warm enough out and he liked eating by himself. Where he wouldn’t be reprimanded for chewing too loudly or eating too fast or any number of things.

His mother came out of the master bedroom and Reggie quickly pocketed the egg rolls and shrugged on his jacket. “Where you goin’?” Robert flopped down at the table, opening up the white styrofoam container and digging in, shoving forkfuls of food in his mouth.

“I have a science project due Monday.” he patted his jean pocket to make sure his phone was there. “My partner wants to finish working on it tonight.”

A normal parent might have questioned their child leaving home late or when they’d be back. But Reggie’s parents waved him off and he tried to ignore the little pang in his gut that flared up at the indifference they felt towards him.

He knew he was a mistake, that his parents hadn’t planned to have him and that he’d derailed their life plans of travel and adventure and financial stability. But he hadn’t asked to be born and he did his best to make their lives easier but it only seemed to backfire. No matter how hard he tried, Reggie messed everything up. He couldn’t even wash the dishes without breaking something and making his parents angry with him.

Reggie walked down the sidewalk, hands deep in his pockets and the golden light of the streetlights hummed overhead. The warmth of the eggrolls seeped into his fingers and Reggie pulled them out of the paper package, nibbling on them slowly as he continued to walk.

If he was honest, sometimes he thought about not going back to his parents. But staying with Alex or Luke long term wasn’t an option, they had their own issues with their parents and adding another kid into the mix wouldn’t help anyone. And Reggie never wanted to be a burden on his brothers.

When he reached the sand shores of the beach, Reggie toed off his boots and, crumpling the empty packet and tossing it in the trash, he dropped his belongings in a little pile on the sand. Reggie rolled his jeans up his legs and headed into the ocean. The cool water lapped at his ankles and the last rays of sunlight washed over his skin as he sat on the sand.

The smell of salt cleared his senses and he watched the colours bleed out and turn dark and the stars burst through the inky sky. The waves pushed and pulled, lulling him and Reggie fell back into his makeshift pillow of boots and flannel and leather.

His stomach growled and Reggie groaned, turning on his side towards the water, letting himself get lost in the endless blue.

Eyelids growing heavy, Reggie let himself drift away into the exhaustion weighing heavy on his bones. The ache in his cheek faded and the sting in his fingers numbed and slowly, Reggie fell into a dreamless sleep in his safety place.

* * *

The first coherent thing Reggie felt was a sharp kick to his thigh.

The second was the too bright sun shining right into his eyes, effectively blinding him and he groaned, covering his face against the light.

And the third was the voice of an angel.

“Oh thank god, I thought you were dead.” he ripped his arms away and stared up at her.

 _Oh thank god, I thought you were dead_.

Ever since he woke up one Sunday morning with those words tattooed on him, Reggie had wondered. Why those words? What could possibly be the reason his soulmate thought he was dead? For the last year he wondered why the first words his soulmate would say to him were something so scary.

Alex and Luke liked to play a game of ‘what’s the craziest way for Reggie to meet his soulmate’ when they were bored - it ranged anywhere from a daring rescue with spontaneous superpowers to wicked guitar solos that would make them swoon. It calmed him, the weird and slightly insane situations the boys came up with. It made his own idea of their meeting less terrifying because what Reggie was sure of was that one day his parents would get angry and wouldn’t stop hitting him until everything went black. And she would be a nurse or a paramedic on the scene. He never told the boys that, it would just worry them.

But out of all the ideas that crossed his mind, he never thought it would be a nap on the beach that pushed them together.

Looking up at the pretty brunette staring down at him with worry painted on her face and arms crossed over her chest, Reggie could have swallowed his tongue. Because the girl in jogging shorts and a sports bra, the one with the pretty blush crawling up her neck, whose lovely voice soaked in honey had just said his words, was none other than Carrie Wilson.

He sat up, nervously brushing the sand off his clothes and out of his messy hair. Carrie took a step away from him, holding her hand out to stop him from coming closer and Reggie felt the gnawing of guilt in his stomach for scaring her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” she blinked up at him and he could see recognition in her face. “I-”

Before he could finish his sentence, she turned and ran, leaving Reggie frozen and alone.

* * *

**~ Luke Patterson ~**

A week after Julie let them move back into her garage, Luke found himself sitting on the familiar couch with his songbook comfortably tucked on his lap and a pen between his teeth. Humming under his breath, he jotted down a few lyrics before crossing them out and trying again. The page looked more criss crossed lines then actual words.

 _Sometimes I_ ~~_feel_ ~~ _think I’m falling_ ~~_tumbling_ ~~ _down_

 _I wanna cry, I’m_ ~~_screaming_ ~~ _calling out_

 _For one more try, to feel_ ~~_something_ ~~

Luke frowned, tapping his pen on the crinkled page. “Alive,” he sang to himself, a grin creeping up as he wrote it down. “And when I feel…” he paused again. “Uninspired apparently.”

He groaned, tossing his songbook on the table and rubbing little circles into his temples.

He’d been trying to write all week but no matter how much he tried, all that came out was unfinished paragraphs and melodies that led nowhere and it frustrated him to no end. Alex and Reggie tried to help but Reg kept pushing his country lyrics and Alex had sugary pop flowing out of him and neither was helping.

A light knock pulled him out of his thoughts and Luke wished he was cooler than jumping off the couch and straightening his shirt to make sure Julie didn’t think he was a slob, but he really wasn’t. “Come in,” he called, checking the little sitting area to make sure he hadn’t left a mess in his wake.

Julie popped her head in. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yes, why?”

She pushed the door closed behind her and Luke whipped his sweaty hands on his jeans. “I’ve been knocking for half an hour. I was starting to think there was nobody in here until I heard you sing.” Luke blanched thinking he’d been ignoring her, but Julie didn’t seem to mind, nodding towards the notebook. “What are you working on?”

“Just a new song,” he said bashfully.

“Can I help?” she offered with a smile that flipped his stomach upside down. “If I’m not overstepping, of course.”

“I’d like that.” he nodded eagerly. “If you have time?”

Julie smiled, taking a seat and reached for his songbook. Distantly, Luke wondered why he didn’t mind that she was holding his most prized possession. He sat on the edge of the couch, flipping open the book to the last page.

She read over what he had quickly. “Bright, huh?”

“It’s a working title,” he rubbed the nape of his neck self consciously.

“I like it!” she reassured him. “What about ‘and when I feel lost and alone’?” she sang softly, picking up his discarded pen and writing it down next to his chicken scratch.

He moved closer, bumping his shoulder to hers. “I know that I can make it home,” he answered slowly, watching her nose crinkle as she smiled up at him softly. And suddenly Luke felt like he knew exactly what the song was missing.

“How about this-?” and she moved into his side, placing the notebook between them.

Her curls brushed his shoulder and Luke leaned into her, the subtle scent of cherry hit him and Luke realized how weird it would look to anyone who walked in. Her trying to write and him smelling her hair like a rogue puppy.

 _Fight through the dark and find_ ~~_my_ ~~ _the spark_

_Life is a risk, but I will take it_

_Close_ ~~_our_ ~~ _my eyes and jump_

_Together, I think that we can make it_

_C'mon let's run_

“Try going up high?” she nodded and they sang the last lyric together. Her voice was so sweet but powerful and Luke wanted to hear her sing more than one note at a time. “Why don’t you sing?” he had meant to say ‘thank you for helping’ but he schools his features and pretended like he wasn’t as shocked as she was that that had just come out of his mouth.

“I just did.” she shrugged, face drawn into a concentrating little frown.

“One sentence at a time doesn’t really count,” gently prying his songbook out of her hands and turned her with a nudge to her shoulders. “I mean a full song. You would kill it.”

“I haven’t really sang since my mom…” she trailed off. “It feels like a piece of me is gone, the piece that was all about music and lyrics,” she nodded towards his book. “Everything just seems gray without her.”

“I didn’t know her but just looking at this room,” he waved his arm over the grand piano and the records and all the new posters. “She loved music and she loved you and she would want you to use that wrecking ball of a voice and break through all the obstacles in your way.”

“Violent metaphor.”

“We’ve played a few book clubs.” she raised an eyebrow. “Play wherever whenever, that’s the Sunset Curve motto.”

“Can’t imagine you guys scored gigs with that.”

“Nah,” he laughed. “But they had some gnarly snacks.”

“Gnarly, really?”

“Don’t judge me, I’m only a simple guitarist.”

“What happened to,” she dropped her voice to a ridiculous intimidation of him that had a grin growing over his face. “Sunset Curve is the best band on earth and we’re gonna be legends.”

“That’s still true,” he said. “I’m simple when it suits the situation.”

“Convenient.”

Luke shrugged, “I don’t deny that.”

“If you did, you’d be a liar.” she pulled her legs up and turned to face him fully. Luke would later deny the butterflies that flew in his stomach when she shoved his shoulder playfully.

Clearing his throat, Luke inched forward, acutely aware of the space shrinking between them. “Hey, Julie. If you’re too nervous to play on your own, you can always call me.”

“Really?”

“I’ll be there.” he promised.

“Because I let you guys stay in the studio or because we’re lab partners?” she pulled at her fingers, wringing them nervously and Luke felt his heart tying itself into knots.

With a little hesitation, Luke gently put his hand on top of hers. “No, all that is really cool and nice but it’s not why. You’re my friend, Jules.”

“I like being friends with you.” Julie looked up at him under her lashes and Luke had the idiotic idea to lean forward and close the few inches left between them. To press his lips against hers and dig his fingers in the chocolate waves that smelled so sweet.

“Jules why don’t you know that I’m -”

Before he could do something stupid, like blurting out another deep and personal question, Reggie burst through the door. Luke bolted up and Reggie stumbled forward with a dazed expression on his face.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?”

Reggie gripped his jacket, pulling at the fabric. “Carrie Wilson.”

Julie sat up from the couch and came to grip Reggie’s arm and keep him standing, “What about Carrie, sweetie?”

“She’s my- my,” digging his fingers in his hair, Reggie started laughing. “Soulmate!”

Luke and Julie stared at each other wide eyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr (syfygirl1998)  
> or on Instagram (nysa_martell)!


	6. Where Expectations go to Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have y’all seen the Charlie ‘I'm team juke’ interview? He’s so sweet and his whole face lights up when he’s praising Madi and talking about how Juke is perfect for each other. We love our jukebox captains 😌✨

**~ Carrie Wilson ~**

Her alarm went off and Carrie threw the blanket off, stretching as she made her way towards the bathroom. Her face was red and blotchy and she grimaced at the new pair of zits on her chin. Pulling her long brown hair in a high ponytail, Carrie quickly ran her toothbrush under the running water. Brushing her teeth, Carrie eyed the little tattoo on her inner forearm in the loopy handwriting that reminded her of someone in a hurry. All big letters crushed together.

_Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you._

Carrie had spent the last month wondering who would jump out at her and give her a possible heart attack and it was more than just a little embarrassing, she had never wanted someone to scare the life out of her before.

Changing out of her pajamas, Carrie slipped on a pair of shorts and a sports bra. It was too hot this morning for anything else and, grabbing her sneakers, she rushed out the door. Taking the stairs two at a time, Carrie passed her father in the kitchen.

“Breakfast?” he held up a plate with scrambled eggs piled high.

“No, thank you,” she waved over her shoulder. “I don’t want to throw up on my run.”

“Alright, stay safe and don’t talk to strangers!” he called after her when Carrie paused to push her feet into her shoes at the door.

“Hey, dad?” her hand fell off the doorknob.

Trevor rounded the corner, “Yeah?”

“Do you think you can swing by the studio later? The girls were wondering if you could give us some tips for the routine.” she didn’t mention that she was the one who kept egging on the girls about her dad and how much she wanted him to see her hard work.

He shook his head, “I’m sorry, babygirl. I have a flight to New York in a few hours.”

“How long will you be gone this time?” she smiled weakly.

“Two weeks tops.”

“But Dirty Candy is performing this weekend.” she tried not to show her disappointment and from the light pat on her shoulder, she had succeeded.

“I’ll see your next show.”

But Carrie knew better to believe that because her dad always said that. Then a new talk show wanted to interview him or he booked a show and she would get the same voicemail telling her he couldn’t make it. So she tried not to let it bother her.

“Can’t wait,” she said instead because why bother starting a fight this early in the morning when she knew it was pointless. “See you when you get back!”

She closed the door before he could respond and jogged the long path to the security entrance. It was easier going out through the back then trying to brave the main gate without a car, especially when it was a toss up whether there would be paparazzi there or not. If they knew her dad was leaving today then she guessed they would be camped out at the airport waiting for him but better safe than sorry.

Starting her hype playlist, Carrie put her headphones in and bounced on her feet, stretching down to touch her toes and reaching back up to warm up.

As she ran down the road towards the beach, Carrie let her mind clear. It was the best part of her day. The mindless rhythm of her feet, the beat of music pounding in her ears, the smell of the ocean and the sun warming her back.

It was why she kept running every morning.

She’d started a few years ago when her dad mentioned that she would be a better performer if she was more fit but the more she did it, the more she enjoyed the burn in her muscles and the way she could just let herself breathe without the stalking of the spotlight.

Carrie had gotten so lost in her music that when she passed the welcoming sign to a beach several miles away, she skidded to a stop. She never went this far and she pulled her phone out to check the time.

Realizing she wouldn’t have enough time to run back and shower before school started, she grit her teeth with a self disapproving little kick in the sand.

**Carrie:** hey are you up and around

**Nick:** yeah just got up, you okay?

**Carrie:** accidentally overdid my run by a lot and don’t have enough time to get home on foot, can you give me a ride back

**Nick:** no problem, shoot me your location

**Carrie:** thank you!

She sent her location with a little smile. Nick was sweet and Carrie was happy they were friends. He was one of the only people she knew wasn’t interested in being her friend because of her dad or the media attention he would get. The only people Carrie would text in an emergency were him and Kayla.

**Nick:** be there in fifteen

**Carrie:** you’re the best

**Nick:** I’ll see you soon :)

**Carrie:** see you!

Pocketing her phone, Carrie glanced around the empty beach. A flock of seagulls passed overhead and Carrie blocked her eyes from the sun. Off in the distance she noticed a body laying in the sand and her heart lagged a beat.

It would be just her bad luck to find a dead body at - she glanced at her phone - 6:45 in the morning on a weekday.

Looking around, Carrie realized there was no one else around and she couldn’t just leave the poor guy there. Walking across the hot sand, she wrote out an SOS text to Nick but left it unsent, finger hovering over the button just in case it turned out to be a knife wielding psychopath waiting for an idiot like herself to come by.

She stopped a foot away and called, “Hey, are you okay?”

When he didn’t answer, she took a step closer despite her better judgement. He seemed familiar, the dark hair and soft features rang a bell in the back of her head, Carrie was sure she had seen him in the halls between classes but what was his name?

A dark bruise kissed his cheek and there was dried blood on his shirt. Carrie brushed her fingers gently over her unblemished skin. Pulling her hand away, curiosity pushed her a step closer to the sleeping boy.

Had he gotten into a fight with someone? Was he homeless or maybe a runaway?

She cleared her throat, trying to wake him up. “You shouldn’t be sleeping out here, you could get robbed or kidnapped or something.”

Nothing. He didn’t even flinch.

He kept on sleeping and Carrie felt the spark of concern start to grow. Maybe he was more hurt than she could see from here. What if he’d hit his head and was comatosed or bleeding internally? Should she call an ambulance or just have Nick take them to the hospital?

Biting her lip, Carrie nudged him with her foot and jumped away. When he didn’t react, she prodded him a little harder. Still nothing. Frustrated, Carrie decided a sharp kick should decide whether he was just a heavy sleeper or she should be calling for help. He groaned and reached up to cover his face against the light.

“Oh thank god, I thought you were dead.” she sighed. Feeling like she could breathe for the first time since spotting him on the beach.

He froze, pulling his arms away like they burned him and turned his face up at her and she realized how disconcerting this must be for him. Waking up on the beach with a stranger kicking him. Crossing her arms, Carrie felt an embarrassed blush crawling up her neck and blossoming over her cheeks.

Her phone vibrated and she knew that meant Nick was there and waiting for her.

The boy sat up slowly, almost nervously brushing the sand that clung to his hair and his clothes away. She took a step back, holding her hand out. He didn’t seem very threatening but she assumed anyone sleeping on a beach would be up to no good.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She blinked, once, twice, three times.

Out of all the ways she imagined meeting her soulmate, this was definitely _not_ on the list.

Feeling her phone go off again, Carrie clenched her hands into fists, turned on her heels and, in a speed that would make her personal trainer proud, ran towards the only car in the lot. If she had superhuman strength, Carrie was sure she would have ripped the door clean off in her hurry to get out of there.

“Woah,” Nick pulled out of the lot. “What’s got you so freaked?”

Carrie stared out the window as they drove away from the beach, turning her head to watch her soulmate become smaller and smaller until he disappeared. Yanking her hair out of the tie, she pulled the strands, combing through them with her fingers. Her nails were chipped and a ridiculous voice in the back of her head reminded her how sweaty and unkept she looked when meeting her soulmate. Not that he had looked much better but at least he was fully clothed.

Nick reached over the center console, tapping her knee. “Carrie? Did something happen before I got here?” When she didn’t answer, he softly asked, “I saw you talking with Reggie, did he do something to scare you?”

Her head snapped towards him, “Reggie?”

He nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. “Yeah, I have him in a few classes, he’s cool. Unless he did something,” Nick ventured, fishing for more. “Then he’s dead to me.”

“No, he-” she groaned, throwing her head back against the headrest. “Reggie,” she tasted the name on her tongue. “Apologized for scaring me.”

“Okay?” he glanced at her and Carrie recognized her street. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nick,” they stopped in front of her house and he turned in his seat to look at her imploringly. “He _apologized for scaring me_.”

His eyes flashed and widened, “Oh shit.”

“Oh shit,” she echoed.

She hopped out of the car, leaving just as shell shocked as she’d gone into it. She didn’t notice when she passed the gate or walked the stoned path up to the front door, but kicking her shoes off and climbing the stairs two at a time, Carrie hurried towards her room.

“Carrie?” her father called for her across the hall. “You’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry up and change.”

She didn’t bother telling him that she _knew_ she was going to be late but she didn’t _care_ about classes or homework or the test she would definitely be missing in homeroom because her soulmate was a boy with more bruises than skin on his face and green eyes that reminded her of moss, a boy who slept on the beach and used his jacket as a pillow.

Stripping off her sweaty running clothes, Carrie jumped into the shower, letting the near boiling hot water sear the feeling and smell of sand and salt off her skin. She scrubbed until her arms and legs felt raw. It wasn’t until she realized her hands were shaking and the little hiccups turned to gasps that Carrie knew the tightening fist over her heart was fear.

Dropping down to sit on the tiled floor of her shower, Carrie pulled her legs to her chest.

And for the first time since she could remember, she let herself cry.

Because her soulmate was a boy with bruises.

* * *

**~ Julie Molina ~**

It had taken her a second to realize the reason Luke’s hands were gripping the throw pillow hard enough to turn his knuckles white was Reggie’s face.

Or more specifically, the purple and blue that stained his cheek.

Maybe she didn’t notice it at first because she was so focused on one of her friends finding his soulmate or maybe it was that that soulmate was _Carrie_ or maybe it was the fact that she could still feel Luke’s warm fingers on her palm. But the second she realized why Reggie flinched when he tried to keep the bright smile on his face, she was ready to commit murder.

Because someone had laid a hand on him.

And if Julie was one thing, it was fiercely protective of her people. And even if she hadn’t known Reggie for long, he was one of her people. Just like Flynn and Alex and Luke. Even thinking about someone leaving the same bruise on Luke made her eyes flash red.

“Hey, Luke,” she tried to keep her voice light. He turned to her and she could see the same anger reflected back at her. “Can you go get some ice from the kitchen, please?”

Luke glanced between her and the still dazed Reggie on the couch, she could see he was torn between listening to her and staying close to his friend but he stood from the couch with a pat on Reggie’s shoulder.

Passing by her, Luke leaned down, his nose brushing the shell of her ear, “Don’t push him too much, okay?”

Julie gave a little jerk of her head, chills erupting over her neck as his hot breath washed over her skin. His eyelashes brushed her cheek and Julie could feel the blush tinting her cheeks.

Without another word, Luke disappeared through the door and Julie moved to sit next to Reggie with a soft smile.

His eyes were wide and he turned to her, “Can you believe I found my soulmate, Julie?”

“I’m happy for you.”

“On the beach of all places and its Carrie.” he laughed. “I mean I’ve never talked to her before, obviously or you know-” he gestured towards his tattoo. “But I’ve seen her around school and I saw her perform at the last school assembly and she was really good, like I thought Alex was pulling my leg when he told me Dirty Candy was-”

“Reggie, breathe,” she interrupted, shaking her head when he took gulps of air. “I think it’s really great that you found your soulmate but I want to talk about something else.”

“Oh,” he bit his lip, looking disappointed. “Like what?”

“Like this,” she brought her hand up slowly, her thumb grazing his jaw under the bruise and Reggie stiffened.”Baseball sized bruise on your face.”

Slowly, almost unsure, Reggie reached his lithe fingers up his cheek until he brushed the purple bruise and flinched away from the touch. Scared eyes met hers and Julie gently brought his hand away from his face, holding it between hers.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you aren’t ready to, but,” she squeezed his hand. “Whoever is doing that to you, but I don’t think this is the first time it's happened. And I don’t feel comfortable letting you leave my house when I don’t think you’re going to be safe.”

“What am I supposed to do then?” his voice was small and Julie tried her hardest to keep her face from pinching in anger at whoever made him feel like he should be small.

“We have a guest bedroom at the house and the studio is always open,” Julie explained simply, noting that she should call her dad and let him know she was adopting a child before he got home for dinner. “Alex and Luke can lend you some clothes and we can figure everything else out one step at a time.”

“That’s really nice of you, Julie,” he swallowed thickly, keeping his eyes trained on his scuffed sneakers. “But I don’t need charity. I can take care of myself.”

“It’s not charity.” she said firmly, ducking her head to catch his eye and keep him from sinking into his thoughts. “I’m helping my friend because someone is hurting you and that’s not okay with me, Reggie.”

“They would worry about where I am.”

“Your parents?” he nodded. “Are they the ones who did that to your face?” again, he nodded, slower like he was admitting to something shameful. “And do you feel safe with them?”

Reggie stared at her, looking for something hidden underneath the concern. She wondered if this was the first time someone - who wasn’t Luke or Alex - had offered to help him. She couldn’t imagine how hard it was for Reggie to trust someone with his situation when it was his own parents who were hurting him.

“No,” he said finally.

“Do you feel safe here? With Luke and Alex?” sweeping a hand slowly around the studio, Julie tried to stay patient and calm, even when her insides were twisting in anger the longer she looked at his face.

What kind of person, what kind of _parent_ , laid a hand on an innocent boy?

“I always feel safe around the boys.” Julie smiled softly. “And I like you. You’re important to Luke so I know you’re good and I like that you’re becoming part of our group.”

Furrowing her brow, Julie looked at him imploringly. “I like you too, but what’s all that about Luke supposed to mean?”

“Just that you’re friends and he trusts you so I do too.”

She could tell he wasn’t telling her everything but she could rack her brain about it later, right now she had to convince Reggie that staying with her was his best option and going back to his parents wasn’t an option at all.

“Just stay for a day or two,” Julie offered. “If your parents come looking, you can leave with them. But I know it would make me and the boys feel a lot better if you were here.”

“Only for a little while.”

Unable to stop herself, Julie wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Reggie stiffened for a second before melting into her. Burying his nose in her hair, Reggie let himself relax in her arms and Julie wondered when he had let that happen last. Just let himself be held without being scared of when the next hit would come.

A throat clearing pulled them apart and Julie looked up to find Luke awkwardly shaking a bag of frozen peas towards them.

Luke held the bag out and Reggie took them gratefully, pressing it to his face with a sigh. Julie watched him carefully, the guarded expression stayed on his face as Luke sat on his other side and she felt guilty for putting it there.

Reggie’s phone buzzed on the coffee table and he reached for it, sliding it off the table and standing up, “It’s Alex. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he was gone, Luke turned to her in a flash. “What happened?”

“He’s moving in with me.”

“What?”

“Just for a few days but,” she sighed. “They’ve hurt him worse than that.” It wasn’t a question and Luke knew it but he nodded his head anyway. “What kind of people do that?” her voice cracked and she looked at Luke from the corner of her eye, searching for an answer.

“Not the good kind.”

“No,” she agreed, watching the door. “Definitely not.”

“Thank you.”

Chewing her lip, Julie shook her head. “I didn’t do it for you or anyone else. He deserves better than what he’s going through.”

Julie tried to think of a time when she was scared of her parents, that she felt like they would hit her or send her to bed without dinner for something she did. The worst she could think of was when she was eleven and had gotten in a fight with her mom about not being allowed to go to a sleepover in the middle of the week, she had gotten mad and broken her mothers 1920’s original record player. Her dad had confiscated her tv privileges for two weeks and refused to let her have seconds for dessert, which Carlos had rubbed in her face. Her mom had gotten a newer player and Julie hadn’t walked away from the incident with a bruise covering half her face.

What could Reggie have possibly done to earn something like that?

No, not earn. There was nothing he could have done to earn _that_.

“I know,” he said softly, tugging on a curl over her shoulder. Wrapping the strand around his finger and letting the ringlet out before repeating it, letting his hands distract him. “But Reggie is my brother in every way but blood and having him safe means the world.”

“He deserves it.” Leaning back, Julie sighed as she sunk into the couch, enjoying the slight pull on her scalp as he played with her hair. “Do you think they’ll come for him?”

She didn’t have to specify who _they_ were, “No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr (syfygirl1998)  
> and instagram (nysa_martell)!


	7. “you broke out, changed into a unicorn onesie and ran over here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for being so understanding and supportive when I went off to focus on uni! I aced all my exams and my plan was to start regularly posting but before finals I moved in with my sister to help her with her six month old and YALL whoever came up with ‘sleeping like a baby’ didn’t know SHIT about babies because they never sleep. Anyways it’s a miracle I have all A’s because I haven’t slept since I got here in November.
> 
> Anyways this chapter is dedicated to dovesgrangers for her super sweet messages and pearlcaddy for being an annoyance and amazing all at once ♥️

Hey! weird thing happening with my ao3 right now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on tumblr (syfygirl1998)  
> and Instagram (nysa_martell)!


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